


Going Under

by SVU_Addict



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alex is a lesbian, Clubbing, F/F, I JUST REALLY LOVE THEM, Sexual Inexperience, Undercover, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple, olivia didn't know and is now a Nervous Bisexual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-04-26 21:59:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14411421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SVU_Addict/pseuds/SVU_Addict
Summary: Olivia needs someone to go undercover with her in a lesbian bar to catch a perp. Alex volunteers, and it turns out there's a lot Olivia didn't know about her before. She's not sure exactly how she'll cope.There will be smut later on, probably. Rating will change as needed.





	1. You're...what?

“Yes we know he’s targeting clubs. Problem is, we don’t know which ones and at what times, and he’s attacked four times now and we still don’t have him. We have to do better than this.”

Olivia’s voice pierced the room, the sharpness of her tone nearly making her detectives jump. She was always authoritative when she needed to be, that much they were used to. But as she stood in front of the whiteboard, glasses in hand and her other balled into a fist, their hair stood up on the backs of their necks and Amanda just coughed. This case had clearly gotten to their Lieutenant; someone was targeting LGBT clubs and bars, and had already assaulted, beaten and tortured four individuals. None of them had gotten a good look at the perp, and so they were always back to square one when it came to identifying the man (that much they knew because he’d spoken to the victims). He was careful to avoid cameras, never bought anything, and was basically in the wind.

“Leiu, we’re trying – “

“Try harder, then, Carisi.”

“I’m trying to tell you,” he rebutted, leaning into the table and flipping through his notes. “We found something. I just got a text,” he said, holding up his phone with the screen displaying the message. “One of our guys found a few likely targets.”

“Can we narrow it down?” Liv said, breathing out slowly and trying to calm herself. She wasn’t sure why this had gotten to her, but she was nearly pulling her hair out in frustration that bordered on anger.

“He usually targets more lowkey areas, probably to avoid too much press,” he added, puffing out his chest as usual while he went into an explanation that always held far too much detail. “So I sent out a few unis to scout and did a little looking online. There are three bars in particular that seem like prime spots for this guy, and so far he’s attacked every week on a Wednesday – “

“For a month, yes, we know,” Amanda interrupted, rolling her eyes. “Which places, Carisi?”

He pouted and gave his phone to Amanda, who read the names silently and snickered.

“What?”

“I think I know what place he’s going to target,” she said softly. “I’ve been there before. And we know he likes blondes; the place is always full of them for some reason.”

“Do we want to know why you were there?” Olivia laughed.

“With a friend,” she said absentmindedly, scrolling through the phone. She held it out to Olivia once she’d found an image. “This is the place. Surge. Not popular, but growing.”

“Okay. Well tomorrow is Wednesday,” Olivia said sternly. “So I guess we’re sending in a couple of UCs.”

“Why not one?”

“All the victims were with their partners the nights of the attacks,” Olivia pointed out, putting her glasses on top of her head. “So, we need two. Tomorrow, we see if we can get him to bite. Amanda, you’re up.”

 

 

 

“What the hell do you mean you’re sick?”

“I can barely move, Lieu,” Amanda explained over the phone. Her voice was strained, and she sounded faint, if that was possible. “I’ve been sick all night and all morning, I had to call the sitter to come pick up Jesse and take her to daycare.”

“Are you okay?”

“We’ll see in a couple of days, I guess,” she replied, sighing. “But right now, my head feels like someone’s jabbing an ice pick in it and I haven’t left the bathroom in 6 hours.”

“Alright. Get well, Amanda. Take care of yourself.”

“Thanks, Liv.”

Olivia hung up her phone and leaned back in her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing loudly. Fin was in her office with her, and his brows furrowed as he realized the situation.

“She’s not coming in.”

“No,” Olivia replied, wracking her brain for any solution. “And the perp likes blondes, so I’m out. Surge is a lesbian bar, so Carisi’s out.”

“You sure?” Fin said, grinning widely. “I think he might enjoy himself.”

Olivia smirked despite their situation and balled up a piece of paper to throw at him, which he narrowly missed. “Funny. But seriously, we’re fucked unless Amanda finds a miracle cure.”

“It’s only ten o’ clock in the mornin’, Liv,” Fin pointed out, shrugging his shoulders as he headed for her office door. “You’ve got time to think of something. You usually do.”

“Let’s hope I do,” Olivia said as he closed the door, and she stood up and pulled her jacket over her shoulders. She was going to take an early lunch and figure this the hell out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As she walked out of the precinct doors, Olivia was frazzled, frustrated, and hungrier than she’d originally thought. She’d skipped breakfast that morning, which she wasn’t used to doing, because Noah had whined about not going to school. She remembered a bar she’d been to with Alex during their last case and recalled that they had decent enough food and a quiet place to think. Plus, it wasn’t a cop hangout, and she wouldn’t have to make small talk with other lieutenants and sergeants. Perfect.

As she walked into the place and sat down at the bar, ordering fries and a water, she thanked God for the empty atmosphere. There were one or two other patrons this early, none of them very talkative, and she pulled out her files from her bag to try and work out this scenario.

She wasn’t in there for more than five or six minutes when she saw a flash of blonde hair in her peripheral.

“See? I knew you’d like this place.”

“Alex,” Olivia sighed, giving her a soft smile and closing her booklet. “Hey. Yeah, it’s quiet. I needed a space to think for a bit. Want to join me?”

“I wouldn’t want to interrupt your quiet thinking time,” she said dramatically. “But I think I will anyway. Cabernet, please,” she said to the bartender before sitting down next to Olivia and crossing her legs. “So what’s going on?”

“Who said anything’s going on?”

“Your face,” Alex said smoothly, smirking and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I was a prosecutor for twelve years, remember? I’m good at reading faces, especially yours, Liv.”

When she heard Alex use her nickname, she turned to really look at her. She had on a black long sleeve top and jeans, a much more casual outfit than she was used to seeing her in. Olivia had to admit, she was gorgeous; more than once she’d caught herself staring at her in the courtroom when she sauntered about in one of those black pencil skirts she favored, or when she’d snapped orders at her and the other detectives. She was pretty sure Alex never knew she was attracted to her; she was typically very careful to hide it, as she was everything else. Nonetheless, she sometimes wished she’d said something. She valued their friendship too much to destroy it, and besides, Alex was straight as a board as far as she knew.

“True,” she eventually sighed, smiling. “We’re supposed to have an undercover operation tonight. There’s a man attacking gays and – “

“Lesbians in clubs, I know. I saw it on the news.”

“Right. Anyway, he usually goes after blondes that have partners with them, so Amanda and I were going to go into Surge, where we think he’ll go next, but…”

“But?”

“She’s sick,” Olivia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose again. “And I don’t have another female detective, much less a blonde one.”

She looked up at Alex and saw deep thought in her features. She took a small sip of water and waited for the blonde to speak.

“So send me.”

Olivia choked on her sip of water and swallowed, coughing a few times and setting the glass down with a thud. “Um, _no_ , Alex. Civilian, remember?”

“So what?” Alex said, smirking and sipping her wine. “Make me a C.I.”

“And exactly why are you so interested in going under at a lesbian bar that you’d risk your life?”

“I’m not risking my life,” she scoffed, leaning one elbow on the counter and swinging one heeled foot back and forth between then. “I’m helping. And I have experience with that sort of thing, so I might be an asset.”

Olivia _really_ would have spit out her water then, and she thanked God she hadn’t taken a sip. Her stomach did a flip and she raised an eyebrow. “You’re…you’ve got…”

“Yes, Liv, I’m gay,” Alex said, rolling her eyes dramatically and laughing. “Honestly I’m surprised you didn’t know. I mean I don’t shout it from the rooftops, but I’m not exactly closeted.”

“You were to me,” Olivia rebutted, popping a fry in her mouth and praying that this wasn’t a dream. “I never knew.”

“Things like that tend to go over your head,” Alex pointed out, and Olivia slapped her arm.

“Either way, why do you want to do this? I don’t wanna put you in that kind of situation, Alex. You’re a civilian. You were a prosecutor, not a court officer.”

“I know how to handle myself, Olivia, trust me,” she cooed, taking a gulp of her glass of wine and crossing her legs in the other direction. Olivia gulped when she noticed how tight her jeans were. “I clubbed when I was younger. I know a lot that you probably don’t, and I also know how to get you in.”

“I think I could get in just fine, thank you.”

“Not into Surge,” she said sharply. “Surge is…a very particular sort of place. It’s not sleazy, but you need the right look. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

Olivia thought about it for a minute, popping another fry in her mouth. Alex could certainly help in the investigation, she knew. She would know how to handle herself and could probably teach her a few things and keep her in line, as she had zero experience with this kind of thing. She was a former prosecutor, and it would probably be easy to get someone to sign off on it. Not to mention that she wasn’t a stranger to the squad, so she’d be easy to work with for the most part.

“Alright. I’m in. But don’t fuck this up, or so help me God.”


	2. Looking the Part

“Seriously Alex? This is absolutely ridiculous.”

“No it isn’t, trust me Liv,” the blonde replied, still working on Olivia’s ponytail and straightening any flyaways. Olivia was afraid that if it were any tighter on the edges it would rip her face off. The top was voluminized and cemented in place with layers of hairspray, while the sides were slicked back and pulled up high. The ponytail itself was curled and honestly, if she was being honest with herself, really suited her.

“I’m not usually a ponytail person,” she said, still a bit timid about how she looked. They had only finished the hair so far, and she was already nervous of how she’d look at the end of the whole ordeal. The brunette stared at Alex pointedly while she did her hair, taking note of how her eyes creased when she concentrated, the way she licked her lips occasionally when she figured something out.

“You’ll look perfect, Olivia,” Alex reprimanded, slapping her shoulder lightly and leaning on both of them, face side by side with Olivia as they both looked at each other in Alex’s bathroom mirror. “You told me you would trust me with this.” Olivia noticed then that Alex’s lips curved into a small smile as she admired her handiwork.

“Alex, I’m fifty-one years old,” Olivia said, chuckling lightly. “I’m not exactly a girl in her twenties looking for fun. That’s obvious.”

“Is it?” Alex joked, poking her in the ribs. “Seriously Liv, you’ll look perfect. Cougars show up in that place constantly.”

“Oh thank you, I feel much better now.”

“Oh come on,” Alex said with an overly dramatic eye roll. “You look gorgeous.”

Olivia blushed slightly at Alex’s words, unsure of why the blonde still had the ability to affect her so much. “Thank you.”

Alex smiled and winked at her in the mirror, letting go of her shoulders and reaching for a foundation Olivia knew would be a shade too dark for her. She wasn’t sure exactly what the blonde was going for, as she’d barely told her anything about the club, but she knew it must be a younger scene than she was used to. Not that she was used to clubs; she’d never really been clubbing at all, let alone to a lesbian club. She’d never been truly comfortable with that aspect of herself, and she chalked it all down to a normal phase she’d had in college. She’d had nothing but bad experiences with women, and she’d never wanted to repeat that in any way, so she hadn’t. Until now, that was. Every time Alex looked at her and concentrated on her she felt both exposed and nervous, but in the best ways.

“Warm smokey eye or something more colorful, do you think?”

“I don’t know, shouldn’t we figure out wardrobe?”

“You’re right,” Alex agreed, rushing out of the bathroom and waving a hand to beckon Olivia to follow her. Olivia rolled her eyes and shook her head, smiling as she followed Alex into her rather beautiful bedroom. Alex had put a lot in savings, she supposed; her apartment was more than enough for her, lavish in some ways and cozy in others. Her walk in closet, though, was one of the more lavish parts. And well organized, by color, she noted.

As Alex rooted through her blouses, Olivia crossed her arms and admired the blonde’s dedication to their night. Their night, she reminded herself; she’d wear a wire, as would Alex (they’d figured out all of the paperwork to make her an official C.I.; she’d deal with Dodds later). They both prepared themselves mentally, though Alex’s preparation was limited to wardrobe and hair.

“You really pride yourself on this, huh?”

“Well,” Alex began, picking out a crop top and holding it up, skeptical, before shaking her head and replacing it. “I clubbed a lot back when, and I still do sometimes. You’re not gay, so you need one to help you fit in, especially at Surge.”

“Carisi told me it wasn’t popular.”

“It isn’t,” she remarked absentmindedly, picking out a pair of black heeled boots and smiling, setting them down beside her. Olivia loved the way her lips curled up when she smiled. She loved everything about her really. “It should be, though. It’s a younger scene, but...exhilarating. Mostly because it’s more...daring than the rest.”

“How so?”

Alex paused before continuing, and Olivia could sense some unsure energy in the blonde. “It’s more...handsy than usual.”

“Amanda did laugh when we mentioned it,” Olivia recalled, suddenly feeling a sinking feeling.

“There are stripper poles,” Alex admitted, turning towards the brunette and holding a different crop top in her hands. It was a silver shimmery one, with spaghetti straps and the words ‘not your baby’ written on the front in simple cursive font. “This is very you, I think.”

“I wouldn’t wear that in a million years, but alright,” Olivia conceded, taking the top off of the hanger and holding onto it. “Stripper poles?”

“Yes, but not everyone uses them,” Alex promised her, giving her a smile over her shoulder. “They’re mostly for atmosphere, and for lovers doing dances for each other...it’s rather entertaining actually,” she admitted, swaying her hips as she walked to the jeans part of her closet. Olivia couldn’t keep her eyes off of Alex’s ass as she swayed, cursing those damn jeans with every step.

“Alright, that sounds manageable,” Olivia sighed, pinching her nose and laughing despite herself. “Any other surprises?”

“Only ones I’ll leave for you to see,” Alex said as she held up a pair of ripped skinny jeans. “These were always too big for me. They’ll fit you.”

“Are you calling me fat, ‘Lex?”

“No, I’m telling you you have thick thighs that would kill any woman who sees them in these jeans,” she retorted, snickering as Olivia gaped.

“Thank you?”

“That was most certainly a compliment Liv.” Was Alex blushing? She’d never know, because Alex was already walking past her with the heeled boots in hand by the time she even registered the slight flush to her cheeks. She turned quickly to follow the blonde into her bedroom, where Alex was laying out her wardrobe on the comforter. She looked like a teenager helping her friend learn how to fit in at a college party, and Olivia certainly felt like the inexperienced outsider in that scenario. She wasn’t sure how she’d deal with the entire night, especially with Alex near her constantly, dancing - 

“This’ll be perfect, Liv!” she said, clapping her hands together and smiling at the brunette widely. Her eyes were wide with what Olivia assumed was anticipation. “Go ahead and get changed, and I’ll be in the bathroom setting up for makeup.”

Olivia watched while Alex practically pranced into the bathroom, turning her attention to the ensemble laid out for her. She wouldn’t have guessed in a million years that she’d be going into a club, let alone a lesbian club, let  _ alone _ a lesbian club with a woman she’d had feelings for for years. Alex had always entranced her, but if this was what  _ she  _ was wearing, she didn’t want to know what Alex was wearing. She pulled on the crop top slowly, moving to the jeans next and nearly jerking them onto her, imagining how Alex would look in the leather jeans she’d spotted in her closet earlier…

“Oh shit, sorry Liv…”

Olivia whipped around to see Alex behind her, smirking and giggling when she had one leg in her pants.

“I don’t care,” Olivia sighed, pulling the other leg on and zipping the fly with surprisingly little difficulty. “So? How is it?”

Alex stood leaning on the doorframe, her eyes trailing up and down Olivia’s figure. Olivia couldn’t help but blush a bit. Alex didn’t respond after a moment, and Olivia spoke up.

“Well?”

“Sorry,” Alex said softly, shaking her head minutely. “You look gorgeous, Liv. I was right, those jeans suit you.”

“I’m showing a lot of skin.”

“And it’s beautiful,” Alex near whispered, walking over to her and grabbing her shoulders. “You look perfect. Shush. Now let’s deal with makeup, and then we’ll be on our way.”


	3. Let the Games Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter than the rest, but I promise there's more to come soon! Probably tomorrow or the day after. Enjoy!

Olivia had never felt more…unlike herself in her entire life. A crop top wasn’t something she ever thought she’d be seen in, let alone ripped jeans. Yet, as she adjusted her jewelry in the mirror – silver hoops and a delicate silver bracelet – she felt somehow more alive. They had opted for a simple smoky eye with bold but smoked-out liner, nude lips, and simple accessories. She hadn’t dressed like this in years; she really hadn’t dressed like this _ever_ in her life, and she smirked a bit as she looked herself over, feeling an odd and sudden surge of confidence. “Alright,” she said softly, spritzing on some overly-floral perfume that Alex had given her. “Maybe I can pull this off.”

She walked out into the bedroom, noticing Alex wasn’t anywhere to be found. She twirled around to look for her for a moment before calling out her name.

“I’m in the closet getting changed. Go ahead and get everything set up for the sting, I’ll be out in a minute, yeah?”

Olivia replied in the affirmative before whipping out her cell phone and dialing Fin.

“Hey, Liv. You two ready?”

“Yep,” she breathed, sitting on the edge of the bed, her gaze transfixing to the small bracelet on her wrist. It had a small pendant dangling off it that was fitted with a wire, and it glinted in the light. “We’re both ready, just waiting on Alex to get dressed. Is the car on its way?”

“Yeah,” Fin said quickly. She heard telephones ringing in the background and what she was sure was Rollins and Carisi bickering unintelligibly. She smirked a little bit at that.

“Alright. ETA?”

“Five minutes tops. We’re about to leave now, and we’ll be parked across the street from the club. See you there, Liv.”

She muttered a goodbye and ended the call quickly, shoving her phone in the small black purse Alex had assigned her, and fiddling with her earrings while she waited for Alex to finish getting dressed. She messed with one of the rips in her jeans as she waited, and nervousness started to bubble up in her chest. She was nervous, that was for certain. Alex was a civilian; she’d been an ADA, sure, but she wasn’t a cop. She hadn’t seen what Olivia and her squad had seen, hadn’t worked in the same capacity that they had, and she didn’t have the training she needed to face this kind of situation. She could handle herself, that much was certain, but if things went wrong, what would she do? She decided then that the feeling rising to the surface wasn’t just nervousness, but genuine worry: worry for Alex and worry for her safety. When Alex stepped out of the closet, though, that feeling was entirely forgotten, and she nearly gasped.

Alex was wearing a simple black long sleeve top, with a leather jacket layered over top of it that hugged her figure perfectly. A large silver statement necklace draped over her chest, and she was wearing the top tucked into the same well-fitting jeans she’d been wearing before, this time paired with dark red high-heels. Her hair was curled and well-styled, though not overly so; it almost had an undone look to it. She had on a bold red lip that complimented the heels perfectly, and she looked absolutely fucking stunning in every way possible and _Olivia you’re staring, stop staring you fucking idiot_.

“Well?” Alex asked, and Olivia was almost certain she saw a slight blush gracing the other woman’s features.

“Gorgeous,” Olivia said softly and rather absentmindedly, her gaze fixed on Alex’s own piercing blue one. The entire ensemble had caught her completely off guard. “You look great,” she said, clearing her throat and smiling. She stood and walked over to the door of the bedroom, motioning for Alex to go first. “Let’s go catch a bad guy.”

 

 

 

 

Olivia sat stock straight in the car the entire way to the club, nervously rolling the pendant on the bracelet over between her thumb and forefinger. She remembered briefly that it was a wire, and so she stopped playing with it quickly, realizing she was probably interfering with the audio. Not like it mattered at that point; at the moment, it was just her and Alex in a car on the way to a club, and yet she already felt like she was in the firing line. Every time she caught a glimpse of Alex in the reflections on the windows or in a sideways glance, her breath was knocked out of her. She looked absolutely, positively fucking _gorgeous_ , and it was killing her slowly and deliberately. Alex had always had an air of effortless confidence and cool grace about her, both inside of the courtroom and out. Whether she was in a pencil skirt and blazer or a turtleneck and jeans, she exuded absolute certainty in herself, radiance and confidence, and it was something the Lieutenant had always admired and envied about the younger woman. Now, though, it was driving her absolutely crazy. She was dressed in a way she’d never seen before, and it made her mouth dry and her focus falter every now and then.

“Liv?”

She shook her head minutely and looked over at Alex. Her well-defined brows were furrowed in concern, but she sensed a hint of humor in the way her eyes glinted in the light streaming in from the car windows.

“Yeah?”

“You okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Olivia said, smiling and trying to relax so as not to give herself away. _This is an operation! You can’t jeopardize a sting over a damn crush._

“You look a little spaced out,” Alex laughed, placing a hand gently over Olivia’s. _Goddammit, Lex._ “You nervous?”

“Yeah,” she admitted, though she wouldn’t tell the entire truth. “I’ve never been inside a club like this and I don’t even know what to expect. I’m not exactly the clubbing type.”

“That’s why you stick with me, Liv. I know this place. Not incredibly well, but well enough to lead you through it just fine. You won’t have any problems. Just act like yourself, and be a cop, and catch the bad guy. Who knows, you might even notice someone you like.”

Olivia slapped her shoulder lightly and Alex laughed a full, round laugh that she hadn’t heard from the younger woman in a long time. It made her stomach flip. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. Plus, that’s not why we’re here. Don’t forget that, hm?”

Alex didn’t respond, only smirking and leaning her head against the window, eyes drifting to the New York streets as the car rolled along. Her hand lingered over Olivia’s and squeezed once, and it made her breath catch in her throat. When they pulled up ten minutes later about a block away from the club, Olivia’s mind was more focused on the task at hand, as though Alex’s touch had somehow calmed her. She supposed it had. She wasn’t sure if it was hurting or helping, but it definitely made her feel warmer.

They both exited the car, and the minute they stepped out into the crisp fall air, Olivia could hear the faint thrum of bass music, and she could see the light blue bright neon sign ahead of them that read _Surge_ in bold letters. The neon flickered slightly, and the street smelled faintly of stale cigarette smoke. She looked over to Alex as she walked to stand next to her.

“Alright,” Alex said softly, smiling at her and walking slowly towards the club entrance. She swiftly grabbed Olivia’s hand and laced their fingers together, and Olivia jumped at the touch but melted into it quickly. She wasn’t sure how Alex had the ability to make her feel so comfortable and at ease while lighting her on fire at the same time. “If this is going to work, we need to act like a couple.”

“Oh good,” Olivia joked. “What could go wrong?”

“Oh hush, you’ll be fine,” Alex promised her, stepping slightly closer to her as they walked and leaning into the older woman. “You look amazing, and you’re a good actress. For once in your life, stop thinking so damn much.”

“Noted,” Olivia whispered, her body lighting up at the feeling of Alex’s body pressed into her side, and as they descended the stairs into the club and past the bouncer (with surprising ease), she smiled widely. “Let the games begin.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! More chapters should be up soon.


End file.
